Natural Gas Prices Are Soaring. What Does It Mean For Climate?

"U.S. natural gas prices are soaring after a cold winter and surge in liquefied natural gas exports.

Prices at Henry Hub, the benchmark for U.S. gas, have nearly doubled since the start of the year, ending last week at $7.30 per million British thermal units. The rapid increase represents a sharp reversal from the last decade, when gas was consistently cheap.

It also carries important implications for American greenhouse gas emissions.

Cheap gas propelled the construction of new U.S. gas plants over the last decade — a development that dethroned coal as the top source of power generation in America and sent emissions failing. Coal-to-gas switching is responsible for two-thirds of the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. power sector since 2005, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration."

Benjamin Storrow reports for E&E News April 18, 2022.

Source: E&E News, 04/19/2022